IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Our recent webinar had industry stalwarts pour in their thoughts about ‘Desh ki Digital Udaan’: a celebration of the completion of 25 years of mobile communications in India.

On July 31, 1995, India made history as the first mobile phone call was made by then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and erstwhile Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram. Mobile phone services, then, were reserved only for the rich and elite and every call costed a whopping Rs 24.

The concept of smart cities, or Smart cities, has gone from being a futuristic exercise to becoming a reality under construction, driven by data, connectivity, and artificial intelligence. We live in a time when technology and urbanism definitively meet, and at this intersection, the telecommunications sector plays an absolutely central role. As a technology executive with decades of experience in digital transformation projects, I have witnessed this evolution firsthand. More than infrastructure, we are the driving forces behind a new way of living in cities.

My career, which ranges from organizing the 2016 Rio Olympic Games to digitalization projects at global events like the Qatar World Cup, has shown that there is no smart city without a smart grid. And a smart grid isn't limited to antennas and cables. It's an ecosystem of sensors, data, and computing power that transforms raw information into assertive decisions. The technological tripod that supports Smart cities, sensors, data and artificial intelligence, depends on a fundamental partner: Telecom.

The state Home Department has decided to install state-of-the-art video conference facilities in 62 trial courts and prisons, Home Minister K J George told reporters here on Friday.

With this facility, undertrials will no longer be required to appear in the courts in person for hearing. George said that this move would not just help in bringing down the number of pending cases, but also help in addressing several logistical problems faced in producing undertrials before the courts. “We have decided to procure electronic equipment, including high-resolution cameras, for the purpose,” he added.

Courts in Jammu and Kashmir have been connected with jails through video-conferencing

To expedite the process of disposal of cases, courts in Jammu and Kashmir have been connected with jails through video-conferencing. The facility was inaugurated by Jammu and Kashmir High Court justices Alok Aradhe and Ali Muhammad Magrey from the district court complexes in Jammu and Sringar respectively. Aradhe is the chairperson of the computer and e-courts (e-governance) committee while Magrey is the panel's member. The inauguration was attended by DGP (Prisons) Dilbagh Singh, Commissioner Secretary Home R K Goyal, Secretary Information Technology Saughat Biswas, and other officers of the state administration, prisons department and judiciary.

Karnataka is the first State in India to provide video-conferencing in all the prisons linked with the criminal courts.

Henceforth, under-trial prisoners will not miss their hearings in various courts of Karnataka, because of lack of escorts.

The State Government is all set to create video conferencing facility in all 62 prisons in the State, which will be linked to criminal courts. It has also been decided to procure high resolution cameras for this purpose to ensure the clear visibility of under trials.

After launching Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN), chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said the new system will obviate the need of officers from Bangalore travelling all the way to Gulbarga or any other distant place and vice-versa to just hold a meeting. This will not only ensure transparency but also save time and cost, he added.

Though Indian telecommunications sector is the third largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia, when it comes to rural teledensity, it is very low, pointed out Communications and IT Minister A Raja.

While inaugurating the 14th India Telecommunications International Summit in New Delhi today he said despite impressive growth of the telecom sector and low tariffs, vast stretches of India's rural population have little or no telecom penetration and there is a large rural-urban divide in connectivity.

The objective of EGRIP is to promote efficiency, quality, and transparency of public services through the delivery of regionally integrated e-government applications that take advantages of economies of scale.

Among the objectives of component one of the OECS-EGRIP are to strengthen and harmonize national and regional e-government processes, operational ICT platforms and framework and to promote more efficient regionally-based ICT development and capacity.

For the record, Information and Communication Minister Dr. Ham-Mukasa Mulira has confessed that it is now very possible for the President, if he so wishes, to participate in any Ministry board meeting and be able to view members and participate verbally in the meeting without physically being present.

Three influential lobby groups are calling for faster uptake of videoconferencing to help reduce carbon emissions.

The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) have published reports saying the technology is vital to reducing business travel.

Constructions permits that had a water and sewer component in the county often got delayed, as separate departments located 10 minutes away from each other are required to evaluate the applications. But Skype bridged that gap by allowing staff members and developers to connect online, allowing any issues or questions to be addressed in real-time.

The telecommunications market is undergoing significant changes, which include industry consolidation and a shifting contracting environment. At the same time, the demand for services is increasing.

In a recent market analysis report, Input predicted steady growth for the federal and the state and local markets. In the state and local market, the firm's analysts predict 70 percent spending growth in the next five years — from $9.6 billion in 2005 to $16.4 billion in 2010. That represents compound annual growth rate of 11.4 percent.

The Government Office last week announced that chairmen of provincial-level people’s committees will attend the government’s socio-economic discussions via video-conferencing systems from late this month.

More meetings among government officials will be conducted online via TelePresence technology, following the success of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s recent online discussion.